A computer network is a collection of interconnected computing devices that exchange data and share resources. In a packet-based network, such as the Internet, the computing devices communicate data by dividing the data into small blocks called packets. The packets are individually routed across the network from a source device to a destination device. The destination device extracts the data from the packets and assembles the data into its original form. Dividing the data into packets enables the source device to resend only those individual packets that may be lost during transmission.
To route the packets through the computer network, each network device may be assigned an address that uniquely identifies each of the requesting network devices. Each packet may then include a source address uniquely identifying the network device that originated the packet and a destination address uniquely identifying the network device to which the packet is destined. Intermediate devices, referred to as routers, may route the packets to the destination device based on the destination address included within the packet.
Typically, each network device, upon attempting to access the network, requests configuration information that includes a network address, such as an Internet Protocol (IP) address, in accordance with a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and may require authentication by an authentication server. For example, a subscriber device (e.g., a cable modem, a digital television setup box, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modem) commonly requests a layer three (L3) IP network address by issuing a DHCP request containing, in part, a set of DHCP options and authentication information.
A DHCP server that maintains an IP address space receives the DHCP request from the subscriber device. The DHCP server interprets the set of DHCP options, authenticates the subscriber device by contacting an authentication server, determines a set of appropriate options for the requesting network device in accordance with configuration information controlling allocation of DHCP options, and forwards a response back to the network device containing the determined set of options for the network device. Each DHCP server may need to be particularly configured to forward the set of appropriate options for the network device.